Litigation plays an important role in a law firm’s suite of services, and in this first-ever ranking, we are celebrating Asia’s top 15 litigators. The lawyers named in the list have stood out based on several factors, including profiles of cases handled, client recommendations, the use of technology to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and more.

In its first MENA Super 50 Lawyers list, ALB spotlights standout lawyers in the Middle East and North Africa region who have excelled in client service. The lawyers were selected based on client recommendations sent directly to ALB via an electronic survey, which was open from November 2020 to January 2021. More than 300 in-house counsel voted, from across the Middle East region and beyond. The list is in alphabetical order, and certain lawyers have been profiled.

In November last year, China’s Supreme People’s Court and the Hong Kong Government signed the Supplemental Arrangement Concerning the Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and Hong Kong SAR. The agreement is widely expected to enhance the enforcement process and serve as an expansion of the 2000 Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and the HKSAR.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic ensured Indonesia’s GDP is expected to contract by 1 percent in 2020, Southeast Asia’s largest economy is set to bounce back strongly this year. Lawyers in the country talk about how the pandemic impacted their work, and also some of the important lessons they have taken away from this period.

The U.S.-China trade war, the U.S. elections, and of course COVID-19. Last year saw unprecedented challenges for the investment fund industry in the Asia-Pacific region. But as funds adapted through innovation and technology, they expected their lawyers to do so as well, and offshore firms certainly stepped up to meet the challenges brought by a very unique year. 

India’s historic rise in renewable energy M&A deals in 2020 has emerged as a bright spot during the coronavirus pandemic. But lawyers are not surprised by the growth, which they say is supported by a range of factors. 

With technology usage ramped up by the global COVID-19 pandemic, forward-thinking law firms are increasingly looking to invest in smart technology solutions that enable their lawyers to thrive, regardless of physical location. Whether firms want to attract top talent with flexibility, work more collaboratively as an organisation, or offer clients a more sophisticated experience, post-pandemic, decisions makers are taking a strategic approach into 2021.

Virtual bank licences have been something of a work in progress in Singapore over the past few years, and despite the pandemic, this process has remained on track. In June last year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) shortlisted 14 contenders “eligible for next stage of assessment,” and by December, the city-state had approved four digital bank licences.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), signed by fifteen Asia-Pacific economies in November last year, has been heralded as the largest trade pact in the world.

Yihan Goh, dean of the Singapore Management University School of Law, was recently appointed as a senior counsel. He spoke to ALB about how the pandemic is impacting legal education, and what he and his team are doing to build the ‘law school of the future.’